Ilse ikeda biography of michael jackson

After the Temptations and Four Tops nailed their sets early in the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” TV recording in 1983, Shelly Berger, who managed both acts, was walking around backstage puffing out his chest.

“I’ve got to be the big star of the night,” he told himself.

Then he encountered Suzee Ikeda, who said softly: “You haven’t seen Michael yet.”

Ikeda, who had worked with Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 as a Motown creative assistant, could see that Jackson’s moonwalk performance that night in Pasadena, Calif., would “break television altogether,” as Berger recalls.

Afterwards, Berger sought her out and admitted she was right. In her unassuming way, Ikeda had a way of knowing the facts and seeing the future.

Ikeda, now 73, never made enough noise to be one of the iconic soul-music label’s storied